Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF)

PÖFF — the Black Nights Film Festival (Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival) — is Tallinn’s headline film festival and one of the most significant in the whole region. Held in November, it’s a major, internationally accredited event with hundreds of films, premieres, competitions and industry events, plus sub-festivals for animation, children’s and youth films, and shorts.

It works so well partly because of when it happens. Tallinn in late autumn is made for cosy culture: short daylight, warm interiors, and a city that feels intimate and unhurried. PÖFF turns that mood into a city-wide season — cinemas humming, conversations spilling out into cafés, and a genuine festival electricity that gives a November trip a real reason to exist. If you love film, it’s one of the best times of year to be here.

Expect a big, sprawling programme — hundreds of features and shorts from around the world, screened across multiple cinemas and venues over roughly a couple of weeks. There are competition strands, world and regional premieres, Q&As with directors, and the parallel festivals (animation, youth, shorts) that run under the PÖFF umbrella. It’s a serious festival that still feels welcoming to ordinary film fans, not just industry insiders.

Many screenings have English subtitles or are in English, which makes it very accessible to visitors, but it’s worth checking each film’s language details when you book. Popular premieres and gala screenings sell out, so plan your must-sees in advance and leave room to wander into something you’ve never heard of — often the best part of a festival like this.

A simple approach works best:

• Pick one ‘must-see’ screening per day and book it in advance
• Keep the rest of the day as wandering time so it doesn’t become a logistics marathon
• Balance cinema nights with whatever daytime Old Town light you can get
• Leave one slot open to take a punt on a film you’ve never heard of — festivals reward it

If you want an easy daytime structure, follow 1 Day in Tallinn and swap your evening for a screening.

A November film trip is at its best when the cinema is balanced with warm, slow daytime plans. Good pairings:

• A warm museum afternoon like Kumu or another pick from Museums in Tallinn
• A sauna and spa reset for the cold, dark evenings (see Saunas & Spas in Tallinn)
• Cosy cafés between screenings (see Best Cafes in Tallinn)
• A short Old Town wander when the daylight allows, using the Old Town Walking Tour

If the weather closes in entirely, lean on the Rainy Day in Tallinn plan — a festival like PÖFF is, in a sense, the ultimate rainy-day activity.

PÖFF is reliably a November festival, leaning into the ‘black nights’ name with the season’s long, dark evenings. The exact dates, the venues, the programme and ticketing change every year, so check the official PÖFF information close to your travel dates. Build your trip around daylight and weather — November is genuinely dark and can be cold and wet — and treat warm cafés and cinemas as features, not compromises. See Tallinn in Autumn for the seasonal picture.

Festival schedules, venues, and ticketing change year to year. Check official PÖFF information close to your travel dates, and book gala and premiere screenings early as they sell out. Plan around the short daylight and bring warm, waterproof layers.